Day-Monroe sets American record, claims indoor pentathlon crown

2/21/2014

ALBUQUERQUE -- The first national champion of the 2014 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships was crowned Friday, as Sharon Day-Monroe (Los Angeles, Calif.) set a new American record en route to her third consecutive women’s pentathlon title on the opening day of competition at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The event runs through Sunday, February 23.

With a score of 4805 points, Day-Monroe sits 12th on the all-time list for the women’s indoor pentathlon and is among the athletes who have been invited by the IAAF to the World Indoor Champs next month in Sopot, Poland.

The record of 4753 was previously held by DeDee Nathan and Hyleas Fountain. Nathan’s mark came on March 5, 1999 in Maebashi, Japan while Fountain’s record-tying mark came in Doha, Qatar on March 10, 2013.

Day-Monroe began the day with a lifetime-best 8.44 in the 60-meter hurdles, good for 1,030 points. Day-Monroe then scored 1,080 points in the high jump, clearing 1.88m/6-2 for the win.

Shot put was next, as Day-Monroe turned in her second PB of the afternoon, tossing a mark of 15.59m/51-1.75 for 900 points. The two-time Olympian and two-time defending U.S. pentathlon champion moved onto the long jump next, leaping 6.09m/19-11.75 for second behind overall runner-up Sami Spenner (Columbus, Neb.) from Nebraska-Omaha.

Day-Monroe needed to finish the 800m in 2:16.87 to break the previous record and did just that, crossing easily in 2:13.19.

Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) leads the men’s heptathlon with 3,436 points after day one. Horn won the long jump with a mark of 7.69m/25-2.75 (982 pts), just half an inch off his indoor PB (7.70m/25-3.25). Horn tied with Jeff Mohl (Red Lodge, Mont.) in the high jump, battling to match his indoor PR of 2.07m/6-9.50. The five-time Southeastern Conference champion also turned in top-three finishes in the shot put (3rd - 13.36m/43-10, 689 pts) and 60m (3rd - 6.96, 897 pts) to lead after four events.

Horn’s 3,436 points sets a new day one personal best for him, having scored 3,418 en route to his fifth SEC title in 2012.

The continuation of the men's heptathlon kicks off day two action at USA Indoors with the men's 60-meter hurdles at 11:30 a.m. ET live on USATF.tv.

The USA Indoor Track & Field Championships are the final stop of the 2014 USATF Indoor Championship Series. The event serves as the selection process for the members of Team USA who will represent the U.S. at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, March 7-9.

With the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, the New Mexico Sports Authority, the University of New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque and USATF New Mexico again serving as official sponsors, this is the fifth consecutive year the Albuquerque Convention Center has hosted the USA Indoor Championships. For complete start lists and more information on the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, visitwww.usatf.org.

The official hashtag for the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships is #USAindoors. Join the conversation along with USATF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Live results will be available onusatf.org, and recaps and quotes will be posted daily at the conclusion of each day’s events.